tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post461752692469983293..comments2023-10-16T07:13:12.123-05:00Comments on A plain blog about politics: Dogs, Not BarkingJonathan Bernsteinhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15931039630306253241noreply@blogger.comBlogger6125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-53323517427373687352011-08-10T12:09:30.970-05:002011-08-10T12:09:30.970-05:00Interesting argument by Ron E.
Is the job of the ...Interesting argument by Ron E.<br /><br />Is the job of the chief of staff to be invisible, or to be a lightning rod for partisans?charlienoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-76356378043513673542011-08-10T09:06:04.447-05:002011-08-10T09:06:04.447-05:00Everybody has finally realized the obvious which i...Everybody has finally realized the obvious which is that the things we don't like that the White House does are a reflection of the President not his chief of staff. That's why nobody bothers complaining about Daley.Ron E.noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-63894088011535310512011-08-09T19:39:50.464-05:002011-08-09T19:39:50.464-05:00Re Daley - That's a dog I never expected to ba...Re Daley - That's a dog I never expected to bark. Billy manages his press connections totally differently from Rahm's mode. Doesn't leave many fingerprints, and doesn't thrive on personal promotion or personal battles. So he looks like the good soldier -- there's no space apparent between him and his boss that would draw outside attacks.<br /><br />For all the focus on Daley's business links, he's been a Dem pro since birth (literally). He's got a long history of relations with the pros who run traditional Dem groups like unions, Urban League, conservation orgs, etc. as well as with big-time fund-raising for the DNC and state parties. Not that the interest groups always see eye to eye with him (far from it), but they often go back a long way with him and have an easy entré with him. So there's no big percentage in attacking him publicly. <br /><br />And his low profile doesn't attract the attention of the firebaggers.nadezhdanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-86736062778729176712011-08-09T18:42:54.494-05:002011-08-09T18:42:54.494-05:00Here’s another one -- the Democratic peace movemen...Here’s another one -- the Democratic peace movement. Barney Frank is reminding folks that we can get a lot of deficit reduction from simply ending the wars. He’s even looking to the tea party for allies: <br /><br />"The Tea Party people are anti-military spending to a greater extent than establishment Republicans and have a healthy dose of isolationism thanks to American intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan,'' says Representative Barney Frank of Massachusetts, who has long pushed to cut the defense budget. "On this issue, they were a positive force."<br /><br />http://www.huffingtonpost.com/robert-naiman/a-historic-opportunity-to_1_b_918985.html<br /><br />But I think it’s unlikely that Republican pressure will force the President to change policy -- the Democratic base has to apply pressure for that to happen.<br /><br />#3 -- Greenspan and a number of center-left commentators have been seriously talking about inflation as a solution to our debt problems. Of course, bondholders might have something else to say about this. <br />Greenspan:<br />http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-_N0Cwg5iN4Couveshttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00926561539205771774noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-43195038715432030702011-08-09T16:01:03.399-05:002011-08-09T16:01:03.399-05:00If they really believe that stricter gun control i...If they really believe that stricter gun control is "immanent" -- i.e. "restricted entirely to the mind; subjective," by one definition -- then of course they're right. In fact I think that typo captures a real truth: a lot of what the far right worries about isn't actual policy but a kind of spiritual state. Taxes are higher, guns are being seized, death panels are underway, the UN is plotting with China to abolish the dollar, they're building superhighways for illegal immigrants, etc. -- these things may not actually be "true" in the banal sense of, like, reality, but in some deeper sense they're already immanent (indewelling, inherent) as long as the wrong people are in office.<br /><br />Also, not to be quarrelsome, but isn't saying that "Republicans deserve credit for not being as crazy (so far at least!) as some of us expected" a bit like saying that the London rioters deseerve credit -- so far at least -- for all the neighborhoods they haven't burned down?Jeffnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6926413038778731189.post-34245877259111611712011-08-09T15:30:11.175-05:002011-08-09T15:30:11.175-05:00#4 How can a piece of legislation ensure another p...#4 How can a piece of legislation ensure another piece of legislation isn't passed?David Gillhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00447727084529361439noreply@blogger.com